03-15-2009, 07:53 AM

I’ve been a PC user since DOS. I finally get tired of the constant Microsoft issues and decide to change to the Mac. I look online to decide what I want in the new Mac Book Pro and make an appointment at my local store for a one on one. Imagine my disappointment when I get there and they can’t display the new machine because they don’t have them in the stores yet. To make it worse, they can’t show me the dual boot function so I can keep some of my proprietary MS software. I’d think there was a sizable market for “The Converted”, but for me it was a complete loss of faith in Apple experience. Everyone was friendly but I felt like I was at 7-11 after school gets out.

03-15-2009, 10:57 AM

I assume you're looking at the 17" MacBook Pro. They're still pretty new and demand is high, so it doesn't surprise me that they wouldn't have a display model right now. I would wait a couple of weeks and schedule another appointment if you'd like to see it in person.

I am surprised that you found the staff to be inept as that's exactly the opposite of my experience with the staff at my local store. Fortunately, there are forums like this one that can help answer your questions and set expectations.

The Boot Camp software is very straightforward. There is no special magic to it, basically all Intel Macs use commodity PC components under the hood. So, Boot Camp simply facilitates the installation of Windows by splitting your hard drive into two partitions - one for Windows and one for the existing installation of OS X. Once installed, it works just like it would on any PC, except that you can choose which operating system you'd like to boot in. This is done by holding the Option key immediately after turning the computer on.

Alternatively, you can install Windows in a virtual machine, using a product like VMWare Fusion, Parallels Desktop or the free, open source VirtualBox. This allows you to use both operating systems simultaneously, with the ability to move files and share programs between operating systems. It also allows for a greater degree of flexibility in installation, since it doesn't make any major changes to the structure of your hard disk. Lot's more information is available here.

Obviously this doesn't make up for a live demonstration, but it should give you and idea of how it works.

03-15-2009, 10:57 AM

I was in the same boat as you. I started using PC's since '94 (DOS & Win 3.11 for Workgroups) and I just loved the idea of owning a Mac since 2003 (G5 Introduction).

There isn't really much to show with the dual-boot function (Boot Camp). You just install a copy of Windows (XP / Vista x86 or x64) and when you switch the computer on you just hold the Alt/Option key and select 'Windows' from the list. Once your in Windows it is identical to any other install.

Parallels / Fusion is more interesting since you can run Windows (or any other OS) within OS X so you can save rebooting. It isn't any good for gaming but for an odd Windows only app it can save a lot of time - plus sharing files is a lot easier too.

Don't give up on Apple just because they never had the MBP instock though, it can take a while to go from the web to the stores. You'll probably see there is a long shipping time on the Apple Store too.

03-16-2009, 01:05 AM

Plus, I don't think it's a "love at first sight" kind of thing anyway. I've had my MacBook Pro for about nine months now but I only really started "getting into it" a month or two ago. Still from the start, I knew it was going to be a much better experience. It's still a different operating system so it will take some time to really get confident switching from PC to Mac. Boot Camp is pretty straightforward, not much anyone can do in the way of demonstrating it since it's generally just done once. But you can be shown just where to start. I figured it out pretty quickly, in fact, the hardest thing was getting the Windows XP serial number for installation.

03-16-2009, 04:32 AM

Here's a you tube video of installing Windows using Boot Camp YouTube - Boot Camp Demo: Run Windows on a Mac

And some parallels and VMware fusion onesYouTube - Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, 'Easy' Demo #1 - Modality View Mode & Clips
YouTube - Parallels Desktop 4.0 Overview
YouTube - VMware Fusion 2.0 Install Windows XP

There are loads more on there!